Stunning pair of jazz performances

A Love Supreme, Gary Crosby Quartet, Firth Hall, Sheffield

Jean Toussaint's Blakey Project, Sheffield Crucible Studio

reviewed by Phil Turner

FROM THE supreme to the joyous in two magical performances - inspired by jazz greats John Coltrane and Art Blakey.

The first is a live performance of Coltrane's A Love Supreme.

It’s easy to see why it had a big impact on award-winning bassist and bandleader Gary Crosby when he first heard it in the 1970s.

Coltrane’s magnificent suite written about his spiritual rising out of his long struggle with drug and alcohol addiction is completely transporting and transfixing.

Crosby’s quartet of musicians pays homage in style to one of the most influential albums in the jazz canon, more than 50 years after Coltrane’s only live performance of it.

Crosby is joined by his long time friend and collaborator, the marvellous Denys Baptiste, on saxophone, star-in-the-making Joe Armon-Jones on piano and cool Rod Youngs on drums and they like to keep the spontaneity and favour a naturalness that makes it transcend other pieces of music.

The musicians are fine-tuned and appreciate the audience engaging with the live playing of Supreme.

It’s certainly an intense 40 minutes, which is an emotional tour de force.

As Crosby has said, whether you are religious or not, this is Coltrane communicating about his inner self.

And the performance is a marvellous achievement, doing justice to a great piece of music.

Meanwhile at the second concert, Jean Toussaint’s Blakey Project paid tribute to the hard bop pioneer bandleader Art Blakey and his Jazz Messengers on the 25th anniversary of the formidable drummer's death.

Toussaint spent four years with the band, touring the world.

The focus is Blakey’s influential Roots and Herbs album from 1961.

The aim is to push the music forward, by playing it live, rather than just a tribute band.

Says Toussaint: “Art was one of the most inspirational band leaders, rated amongst some of the greatest. Names like Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Miles Davies come to mind...through the music, art encouraged us to strive and reach beyond ourselves and work as one to create excitement while never losing sight of the audience.”

This incredibly talented line-up of Toussaint on saxophone, Julian Joseph on piano, Byron Wallen on trumpet, Dennis Rollins on trombone, Daniel Casimir on bass and drummer Femi Koleoso — who paid a stunning tribute to Blakey —  certainly brought together an amazing amount of excitement in their performing.

Where A Love Supreme is all about individual meditation and contemplation, from the inside outwards, Toussaint and his fellow players are all about creating something joyous that starts from the outside and brings an inner glow.

They clearly enjoyed themselves and excelled playing a string of pieces composed by prolific composer Wayne Shorter from the Messengers plus a sensational rendition of Blakey's band's biggest hit Moanin’, written by the great Bobby Timmons.